Lots of football talk on Patriots' reporting day in Foxboro

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and players Logan Mankins, Rob Ninkovich and Devin McCourty all met the press at Gillette Stadium on Wednesday.

PATRIOTS HEAD COACH BILL BELICHICK

PRESS CONFERENCE

July 23, 2014

PATRIOTS.COM VIDEO LINK

BB: Good morning. Welcome to football season; we’re here. It’s always an exciting time of year – the start of training camp. I thought that we had a real productive spring with a lot of our players, a couple new coaching staff members. We’re kind of pulling it all together. That’s really to put us in a position to start camp and we kind of get it going today with some conditioning stuff. We’re not in pads for a couple days and then we’ll roll into them by the weekend. It’s a good opportunity to get off to a good start. We’ll see how it goes. We obviously have a lot of work to do. We’ll just take it day by day and try to string some good days together and then see if we can get ready to go down and have good weeks against Washington and Philadelphia and into the preseason. From our coaching standpoint, I think it’s all going to happen pretty fast. Again, the spring preparation has been a really important part of this whole process. Now we’ll take it into the next step and hopefully get off to a good start these next couple days and getting into a good, solid week of work by ourselves and then be ready to work against two quality teams, two quality organizations.

Q: What can you say you truly know about the team right now as you start this part of the process?

BB: I think this is where we really start finding out; a lot of teaching in the spring and the evaluations are more now. So, we’ll see. I think everybody has had their opportunity to participate in the spring workouts, to learn what we’re doing, to get in shape, to be ready to go and now we start competing and we’ll see how that turns out. I don’t know.

Q: Is it too early to know the condition of the team? I know you mentioned you’re going to do some conditioning today but some guys have been in.

BB: Sure. I think we’ll find that out after a week of training camp; start stringing some days together and see how we all look. I know we’ve had guys here for a couple days but that’s not quite the full camp so we’ll see how it goes, take it day by day.

Q: So today is the full team conditioning run? Everyone runs today.

BB: No, we’ve had guys here for three days.

Q: So many have already completed it then?

BB: Yeah. The guys that have practiced have been obviously cleared to practice and they’re practicing and they’re rolling. Then we have another, probably half the team, coming in today.

Q: Is everybody here or accounted for?

BB: We’ll find out.

Q: Guys still rolling in?

BB: Yeah, we’re going through the physicals and getting things organized and all that this morning, so hopefully.

Q: With more physicals today, is it possible you could add a couple more guys for tomorrow?

BB: The guys that we’re seeing for the first time, yeah, I don’t know what their situation is. They would have to be cleared by our medical department before they’re allowed to participate. That’s part of what today’s process is. Guys that have already been here have already gone through that. There’s another group that’s going through that today.

Q: Has Rob Gronkowski been here? Is a decision on him still to come in terms of PUP?

BB: He’s been here.

Q: Would it be accurate to say he won’t start camp on the PUP list?

BB: Yeah, he would be ineligible to do that.

Q: Because he’s been here?

BB: Right. Well not because he’s been here, but because he’s been cleared to play.

Q: Was Armond Armstead’s retirement something you were preparing for ahead of time before he announced it or something you reacted to?

BB: Armond had a problem, had an issue come up later in the spring and then it was resolved. When it was resolved a week ago or whenever it was, it was a little bit of a process. I think after everything had come through, that was the decision that he made. So, as that process is going on, we realized that was certainly a possibility.

Q: Do you like it better now the way it is – when guys come in they are fully ready to go, they’ve had an offseason?

BB: It doesn’t really matter what I think about it. We work within the constraints that we have. Whatever the rules and opportunities are and try to make the most of them. That’s what we’ve always done, that’s what we’ll try to do now.

Q: When the rookies come in early, what happens during those couple days?

BB: The players that came in early were a combination of rookies and veterans; obviously quarterbacks. It was a mixed group but for the most part, with one or two exceptions, all those players were here in the spring. So it isn’t like we’re starting from scratch of, ‘Here’s where the field is,’ type of thing. We’re beyond that. They’re all here for a reason, for a purpose. We try to make the most out of those opportunities that they were here for. They’re all, again, different reasons, different circumstances but there are reasons why they’re here, set forth in the CBA. We try to, again, use that time to use it productively for those players. They’re in certainly different categories, different situations.

Q: Cameron Fleming missed all the spring except for minicamp. How has he done cramming for everything he missed?

BB: I think all the players are in different stages of development. Cam is a smart kid. He’s picked things up quickly but started further behind because of the two and half weeks or whatever it was that he missed. Again, we’ll try to level the playing field here in training camp so that everybody gets an opportunity to compete: the double digit veterans and the guys that are here for the first time. That’s not going to be totally level but it will be hopefully on a competitive level and we’ll see how it goes. But they’re here, they’re working hard and we have a long, long way to go. We’ll see how much everybody improves.

Q: Rob Gronkowski has had a lot to overcome physically the last couple years. What have you seen from behind the scenes how he has worked to get himself back?

BB: Rob’s always worked hard. He worked hard as a rookie, he’s always worked hard. When he’s here – I can’t speak for – but what we’ve seen, he’s been consistent.

Q: How pleased are you that he’s made it to this point to be practicing at the start of camp?

BB: It’s good to see all the players that are out there, out there. The ones that aren’t out there yet that are working hard to get back, we’ll look forward to seeing them as soon as they’re able to participate. We have 90 players on our roster and the ones that are out there actively participating, I’m happy to see all of them.

Q: When you have turnover at a position, like the secondary, is it more of a challenge to all those guys at that position to coordinate? Is it tough when you have that much turnover for them to work together?

BB: Not necessarily. It could be but not necessarily. We’re certainly not anywhere near where we need to be or will be, but I’d say we’ve already crossed part of that bridge in the spring. We had 13 practices together and at this time of year, as we do in the spring, we work a lot of different people in different combinations and let the competition sort itself out. I think that we’ve had good, productive communication at all the positions. There’s always going to be turnover. There’s turnover every year on every team. This is nothing unique. We’ll just see how it plays out. I don’t think that necessarily has to be a problem but it could be. I don’t know.

Q: With a guy like Rob Gronkowski, is there anything more that the staff can do during the year to preserve his health?

BB: The health of the team is the most important thing that we have. That’s for all 90 players now and 53 players once we have our final roster. We always try to do everything we can to help all the players stay healthy and stay on the field. We do that for everybody; every single guy. It’s a consideration for all them. Certainly Rob, but everybody. We don’t single out ‘these players’ and ‘those players’. It’s all the players, all of them.

Q: Are you concerned about what’s in the texts between you and Aaron Hernandez?

BB: I think that was addressed by a lawyer last week and I don’t have any further comment on it.

Q: Is it something you routinely do with your players, texting back and forth?

BB: I don’t have any further comment on it.

Q: Do you approach your players differently now given what you know now?

BB: No further comment.

PATRIOTS G LOGAN MANKINS

PRESS CONFERENCE

July 23, 2014

PATRIOTS.COM VIDEO LINK

Q: There’s no hair on your face.

LM: I know. If I don’t clean it up now, I won’t do it for a while.

Q: I think this is your 10th training camp. How is it different your 10th time versus your first?

LM: I'm not sure it’s too different – it’s just the way you go into it. I think I went into them all the same except the first one, when I didn’t know what to expect. And since then I’ve known what’s going to happen every time and I know how to prepare for it and to be ready for it.

Q: How many of these do you figure you have left in you?

LM: I don’t know. That’s a good question. It depends on health I think, and if they want to keep me around here still. We’ll see.

Q: Is it something you ruminate on at this point? Do you set aside a time in which you say ‘OK, do I want to continue to play?’

LM: I just want to play until I think I don’t feel good – and if I can still do it. If I can’t do it, I don’t think I’ll keep going once I don’t feel I’m playing the way I want to.

Q: Do you ever feel like crap?

LM: Yeah, all the time. Not yet; I feel great right now. I’m sure in a few days I’ll feel like crap.

Q: After signing Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner, bringing back Julian Edelman, and spending some money in free agency, are you guys feeling higher expectations for this year and how are you managing that?

LM: Well, we have pretty high expectations every season. We expect to have a good football team and play good football and try to be there at the end. We added some good players and we kept some good players from previous years. I have the same expectations I do every year: for us to have a good football team. You just have to play the games and see how it goes.

Q: What’s the dynamic been like with the new OL coach, Dave DeGuglielmo?

LM: It’s been great. Googe– he’s a good guy. He’s a hard working guy. He’s very loud. He gets his point across well. He’s funny. It’s been great so far and once the pads come on we’ll really see how he wants things done and the way he coaches. We haven’t experienced him in a game situation yet, so we’re still getting to know him and he’s still getting to know us. That’s what all these practices are for.

Q: This line has been together for a long time now. Going into training camp, how important is that confidence level of knowing all the guys?

LM: Yeah, it’s important. We do have a lot of veterans returning and we have some new young guys that are fitting in nicely so far, and it’s always good to know the guys you’re with, that you can trust them and stuff like that. That’s good. This is the time of year you have to go out and prove it and you have to earn your job, so that’s what training camp is for: earning the job.

Q: Bill Belichick said Rob Gronkowski is cleared to play. What does it feel like to have him cleared and what kind of difference does he make for the team?

LM: Well, it’s a positive. We were all hoping Gronk would have a good recovery and so far he has. We’ll just see where he is, how good he is right now. It’s great to have him out there. He’s a dynamic blocker. He does a great job in the blocking and he’s a big target for Tom [Brady] to get the ball to and he gets open. Anytime you can have Gronk on the field, it’s great.

Q: We all kind of ooh and ahh over his pass catching abilities, but do we kind of undersell his blocking abilities?

LM: I don’t think so. He is a good blocker.

Q: From the outside.

LM: Yeah, he’s a very good blocker, especially for his position. A lot of times the guys that catch the ball as well as he does, they don’t really block at all. They try to get in the way sometimes, but Gronk goes after people and he tries to block the best that he can and most of the time it’s pretty good.

Q: Do you still enjoy the whole process of training camp heading into the season?

LM: At this point, you’d rather get to the games. I understand what training camp is for. It’s needed. It’s necessary, so it’s just one of those things that you have to put yourself through and it makes you better. It gets you in good shape, so it’s necessary.

Q: In terms of team building as well, I bet you have a much better idea in two or three weeks as to what the general makeup and mentality of the team is.

LM: Yeah, definitely. And you learn from the new guys what they’re willing to put themselves through, how good of shape guys are in – when we’re doing drills that are really tough and you’re already tired and you see what they’ve got. It’s always a fun time, but it’s a hard time.

Q: Is it different the first two days when it’s kind of an extension of minicamp and then the third day you finally put the pads on? Is that any more exciting for the linemen because you kind of take a backseat without contact for so long and then you get to go into it on Saturday?

LM: Yeah I think the first few days in shells, I think they’re good. Guys get their legs under them, you get to have a few practices, a lot of running around and stuff, you get your legs and kind of your footwork underneath you, and then you go into pads. I know a lot of guys are always excited for pads – like the quarterbacks and those guys that don’t hit. The linemen, we hit every play in the pads, so it’s a different practice for us. But it’s good. In football you’re hitting, so you might as well hit in practice.

PATRIOTS DE ROB NINKOVICH

PRESS CONFERENCE

July 23, 2014

PATRIOTS.COM VIDEO LINK

Q: Just looking back to last year, and I know it’s a whole new year so you try to establish a new identity and you try not to look back to last year, but maybe you can use it as a way to improve on some area, like third down defense?

RN: You look at last year, and you definitely put that to bed as far as like what we did last year. But you want to take some of the good things that you did out there and improve on those and then you see the things that you need to improve on. As a whole defense, you want to be better this year, this season. I think that, definitely as a defense, we’re going to be a better defense, but we’ve got to put the work in. So that starts today. Again, I think the things that we did last year well, you want to continue to do those and then also improve in some areas.

Q: What gives you that confidence to feel at this point, as you start this process, that you will be better?

RN: We’ve got some of our guys back. Last year it was tough when we lost [Jerod] Mayo and Vince [Wilfork] and Tommy [Kelly]. Those were big blows. So, having those guys next to you definitely gives you more confidence.

Q: Specifically on third down, I don’t know how much you researched it, but if you did in the offseason, what stood out to you?

RN: We’ve got to get off the field. That’s huge. Some of the third-and-long situations, we weren’t able to get off the field. I know third-and-long screens hurt us last year, too, so specifically that play and the third-and-long situation as a whole, we’ve got to do a better job. Obviously, everything is working together, so coverage-rush, rush-coverage all works together. That’s just one area that we definitely need to work on this year.

Q: I know you talked about it in the spring, but what kind of impact has Darrelle Revis had on this defense at this point, and what impact do you anticipate him having on this defense going forward?

RN: Like I said with the guys that were injured last year, we have new people coming in as well that give you some confidence. Definitely when you’ve got a guy like Revis on your team, you’re going to have confidence that he’s going to go out there and shut down any receiver that he’s on. It’s definitely an exciting time for everybody, and we’re all excited to go out there and put the sweat in together and get better as a whole unit.

Q: What is it like to see Rob Gronkowski personality wise? He wasn’t there for a lot of the [spring] and now he’s back.

RN: Gronk is Gronk. Yo soy fiesta, right? Again, I think he’s a tremendous player. Personality wise, he’s one of the best guys you could ever meet. He’s a great guy off the field. He’ll say hi to anybody; he’ll do anything for you. I’m happy to see his progress and see him coming into the season and staying healthy. Obviously, that’s what everybody is talking about. And I don’t want to speak on his behalf, but I think he is one of the hardest working guys I’ve ever seen as well. All of that together just makes for one heck of a football player, so I’m excited to see him as well.

Q: Did your wife finally put her foot down? You’re a lot less shaggy.

RN: Well I cleaned up a little bit. It’s a new year, right? I’m just going to let this roll, so we’ll see what I look like at the end.

Q: Is there a mindset that you personally adopt as you get ready for camp? When it’s hot and you’re rolling around in the grass, do you say, ‘I’m going to embrace it and get into it?’

RN: You know you have to go through it to get to the ultimate goal, and that’s having a winning season. This is the time that you put in the hard work. It all pays off. Being an older guy, I’ve been through the doubles and all the hard days before. I know what they’re like, so I know what to expect. This is where you set the tone for the season.

Q: Do you consider yourself an older guy now?

RN: I’m 30. I still feel young, but when they put the nine next to you at experience, that kind of puts you up there.

Q: Logan Mankins said that coming in this time of year in this organization, expectations are very high. In how many years you’ve been here, has that changed at this point in the season, where we expect more and more?

RN: You guys are the media. I know what the expectations are, but every year there are always high expectations just because we’re on one of the best teams in the NFL. For me personally, there is always an expectation to do better [than] what I did the previous season. So I’m always trying to improve and be a better football player. Every year of experience you get, you want to maximize your abilities and continue to improve as you get older. Everyone knows when you get older, they say your speed and talent and all of that stuff fades away, but your experience grows. I’d say that my experiences here have helped me become a better football player and more productive on the field. Goals for this year for me are just for me to be a better football player than I was last year.

Q: You were on the field for upwards of 90 percent of the defensive snaps. I’m curious from your perspective, do you embrace that workload?

RN: Yeah, whatever it is, I’m going to be out there, and I’m going to be playing hard. If it’s 90, if it’s 100, if it’s 80, I’m going to be out there playing just as hard as I would if I was playing 100 percent or 80 percent. It’s just going to be me doing the same thing that I do every year.

Q: From your perspective, could 80 almost be better because it keeps you fresher for the got-to-have-it pass rush situations?

RN: I’m not a guy to make any excuses, so whatever amount of plays I’m out on the field for, I’ve got to be out there, and I’ve got to play well. Whatever it is, it is, and I’ll go out there and I’ll make plays.

PATRIOTS DB DEVIN MCCOURTY

PRESS CONFERENCE

July 23, 2014

PATRIOTS.COM VIDEO LINK

Q: What are your thoughts on trying to improve the third-down defense with new players in a new year?

DM: When you look back at last year, a lot of things go to straight Xs and Os. You can’t focus so much on last year because like you said, some of the people, when we are watching film, aren’t here this year. It’s just trying to improve scheme things, what some of the guys did last year that are still on the team – how to view things, how to see it better, how to anticipate it better. So, for third down that’s always a key in every game. A lot of the times it comes down to your season being on third down in key situations. So, we’ll definitely watch that and try to improve, like Rob [Ninkovich] was saying, with screens and different plays that happened to us. You always want to look at those things and see how you can get better and that started in the spring, trying to develop those things and look at them, just so all the players know what hurt us last year and what we need to be ready for this year.

Q: How do you prepare to get better against the screen game?

DM: It’s just different things you can work on. I think one of the greatest things about playing here is that we have coaches that find any and everything we can do to get better. One of the big things is just getting to the ball. It’s a play where you try to get the linemen up field, guys are dropping in coverage. Just effort and everything on that simple basis can help improve the screen game.

Q: Do you look at yourself fully as a safety now?

DM: I still try to look at myself just as a football player. I always feel like you never know what can happen. Being able to play safety and corner has helped me in my career so far, so I don’t think I should get to a point where I should lose one of them. Just continue to focus on getting better as a football player. Offseason I’m always doing drills and stuff for both just to stay fresh and be a complete football player.

Q: Do you look at yourself now as the quarterback of that defense because of your experience?

DM: Yeah somewhat. I try to take some leadership role and with some new guys back there and some younger guys, I try to make sure that my experience is felt throughout the secondary just from being here for so long now where myself, Kyle [Arrington] – two guys that have been here for a good amount of time – we can step up and help guys out, get guys in the right position. I think that’s key when you’re trying to develop a good secondary, is have guys that go out there and try to line people up and get everybody set. I think that can be a key to our success and especially early in the season when guys are still learning, still seeing some things for the first time. When you have some guys that have seen some things and seen a good amount of football in this defense, it’s key. You can help guys out and get them right.

Q: What are some ways you can accelerate that process of getting everybody comfortable in the defense? You’ve played back there with a lot of different defensive backs.

DM: Just be vocal. Try to help guys, whether it’s on the field or off the field, when we come in and watch film, even when we are installing some things, putting it in. Just try to give a guy a heads up of what we could see out there. But a lot of times it’s just the work that we have to put in, whether it’s in the film room or on the practice field. Sometimes there’s really no way to speed it up; it just has to get done the old-fashion way at practice working hard and honestly this time of year, just working hard through mistakes. Mistakes are going to happen. Sometimes it’s just the repetition, keep doing it and it gets better over time.

Q: How beneficial was it to go out to train in Arizona with some teammates. Did you learn anything about Darrelle Revis while you were out there?

DM: No, I mean that’s a little different. That’s getting ready for the season, getting ready as individuals. A lot of that stuff we did was working on technique, working on your conditioning, being ready for training camp. It’s not as much when we’re up here going over scheme and all of that. I think it’s always good when you work out with your teammates. You just develop a stronger friendship, a stronger bond. It was really good for all of us to be out there because we all got to work hard together and get better as player and doing it together as teammates.

Q: Did you see a maturing in Tavon Wilson this offseason? Did you maybe see some confidence growing as you spent time around him?

DM: Yeah, I’m excited for him. I think sometimes guys get killed from the outside view and they’re still putting in the work. That’s why I’m excited. Tavon never budged at any second and just got down on himself and stopped working. This offseason in the spring time he’s been working incredibly hard just to get out there and play more. I think that’s his focus, just to get better as a football player and helping the team as much as possible, so it’s an exciting time for him coming into training camp. Each year guys come in and it’s a new year. You have new opportunities, new chances to get out there and play more. He’s just one of those guys that have come in here and I think he’s put himself in pretty good position to come in here and compete and try to get on the field.

Q: What observations have you made about Duron Harmon’s progress this offseason and what are your expectations for him?

DM: Same thing like Tavon: a younger guy who works incredibly hard too. From the spring time until now going into training camp, he’s pushed himself, he’s done everything he could do just to be in this position and get himself a chance to be on the field as well. A bunch of guys on this team come back ready because they know if you don’t go out there and work hard, there’s somebody else on the team that’s working hard to get on the field. I love this time of year. It’s going to be so competitive at camp each and every day, not just one position, but really every position across the board. Guys want to get out there and play. I’m ready and I think Duron along with Tavon and other guys on the team have pushed themselves to be ready for training camp.

Q: What do you think makes the mix of veterans and youth in the secondary special?

DM: We’ll see. I like to think it’s special now but I think every year going in that we have a special secondary and a special group on defense, so I think right now we have a bunch of guys who want to work hard. The younger guys want to learn as much as possible from the older guys and the older guys want to lead. When you have that good mix of guys trying to show each other and guys trying to learn, everyone just going out there and working hard, you have a chance to be very good. Starting now we just have to put in the work and see where it lands. We can’t think too far ahead and think of what the possibilities are, but just go out there and get after it.

Q: Do you look back at all and think about the way things ended in Denver? Do you look at that day as a benchmark or measuring stick of how good you have to be this year?

DM: No, I think it’s not just looking at one game, but that’s the focus of the defense. We have to stop any offense when they’re operating at their best. Any given Sunday, you don’t know what you’re going to get. You can play a team in this league late in the season that has won two games, but if they’re operating on all cylinders, you’re playing the best two-and-whatever team at that point. Each game and each week we have to be ready to go out there and stop the offense’s best. Coach Belichick tells us that every week. We can watch all the film in the world and it can be good football, bad football; the day we play them, that’s what we have to stop. For us, it has to be our mentality to go into training camp every day and do our best to stop the offense every day. That has to be the start and then continue week after week against whatever offense we play.

Q: Does anything change for you going into a contract year?

DM: No, you just play football. Contract year isn’t what everyone else talks about. For a player, it’s just another year in the league. For me, it’s my fifth year in the league. I still want to get better. I think like Ninko [Rob Ninkovich] was saying, as you get older and year-by-year, you just want to continue to get better using what you’ve learned mentally and get better physically. Luckily for me, I’m no as old as Ninko. He’s 30, so I still have time to improve physically and get bigger, faster and stronger.

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